Method and Device to Collect Hair Cuttings

ABSTRACT

A method and device to collect hair cuttings, while the hair is being cut, and dispose of the hair by vacuum means, especially to be used in hairdressing salon to assist hairdressers and their clients by avoiding the problems caused by loose hairs after having been cut from the client&#39;s head. 
     An apparatus shaped as a concave tray, circumscribing the customer&#39;s neck as a collar, optionally being placed on a conventional hairdresser&#39;s cloak, close to the customer&#39;s neck. Falling Cut hair would be collected on the concave tray and would be vacuum through holes on the concave tray connected to vacuum means for convenient disposal.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is in the field of haircutting and in particular a method and device to collect hair cuttings with the aid of vacuum.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hair cutting has been done throughout the ages and has always presented a problem with the hair cuttings. The cuttings cause inconvenience to the person whose hair is being cut as they fall onto his clothes and between his neck and his shirt or other clothing. This is the case even when the person having his hair cut wears a robe or cloak type of garment on top of his regular clothing that is often specially designed for this purpose. Where a cloak is used the problem with fallen hair is less but still significant. The cloak can be worn, often closed uncomfortably tightly around the neck, and the hairdresser brushes or blows with the aid of a hairdryer the excess hair from the head and surroundings but nevertheless when the cloak is removed there are hairs causing to the neck to itch and there are hairs that seem to stick to the persons clothes and are hard to brush or pick off.

In addition to the above, the hairdresser has to spend time, usually after each person has finished his hair cut, cleaning the floor around the seat and the seat itself.

This invention therefore comes to solve these mentioned and other problems with present art. It removes the cut hairs by means of vacuum thereby sucking them towards the vacuum piping and into containers as they fall from the person's head.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description present embodiments of the invention and are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the invention as it is claimed.

The invention reveals a method and device to collect hair cuttings while the hair is being cut and dispose of the hair by vacuum means, especially to be used in hairdressing salon to assist hairdressers and their clients by avoiding the problems caused by loose hairs after having been cut from the client's head.

The object of this invention is to have an apparatus shaped as a concave tray placed on a conventional hairdresser's cloak, preferably, on the upper area of the cloak, close to the customer's neck. The concave tray would be as a collar, circumscribing the customer's neck, wherein the two edges of the tray, the one close to said customer's neck and the second which is the furthest from customer's neck, would be higher then the middle area of the tray. Cut hair would fall on the tray and be collected especially in the middle part of tray. The tray would have holes connected to vacuum means to attract the fallen and loose hair into piping and containers for convenient disposal.

The concave tray might also be positioned lower on the hairdresser's cloak, or alternatively, even might be used without the use of the hairdresser's cloak.

The vacuum pipes connected to the holes might be placed under the cloak or might be placed in a different place as for example attached to the back of the chair. The engine creating the vacuum could also be under the cloak or at a distance from the area of the hair cutting joined to the holes of the tray by vacuum pipes.

Alternatively, there could be a central vacuum pump for example under the floor of a hairdresser's premises or in an adjacent room with a detachable vacuum pipe connection next to each hair cutting chair. The vacuum pipes from the hair cutting chair to the vacuum making compressor could be under the floor or over-head. This would have the advantage of reducing the amount of unsightly exposed piping and also reduce the noise of the vacuum motor in the vicinity of the haircutting chairs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate various embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles and operations of the invention, by way of example only and not to limit the invention to these descriptions only.

FIG. 1 is a schematic depiction of a hairdresser's cloak with the tray for catching hair and vacuum holes.

FIG. 2 is a schematic depiction of a hairdresser's cloak with the tray for catching hair in a lower position.

FIG. 3 is a schematic depiction of a hairdresser's cloak where there is a remote control and the vacuum pipe on the outside of the cloak.

FIG. 4 is a schematic depiction of a hairdresser's seat with the vacuum motor and lead pipe attached thereto.

FIG. 5 is a schematic depiction of an embodiment of the invention attached to the rear of the hairdresser's seat.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As will be appreciated the present invention is capable of other and different embodiments than those discussed above and described in more detail below, and its several details are capable of modifications in various aspects, all without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description of the embodiments set forth below are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.

FIG. 1 shows a hairdresser's cloak 100 with the tray 102 for catching hair and vacuum holes 104 wherein the hairs would be sucked. The shape and size of the holes 104 could be made to be able to suck in hairs the most efficient way. The size of the hole may be different for men and women clients as generally the hair cuttings of men are shorter than women. Alternatively a size hole could be found to satisfy all lengths of hair but this would have the disadvantage that the size of the hole is inversely proportional to the strength of the vacuum sucking and so the most efficient suction would be the smallest hole that would easily suck in the particular client's hair cuttings. The size of the hole could be adjustable for the aforementioned reasons which could be achieved manually by pushing knob 106 forward or backward in slot 108. Knob 106 could be connected to a circular plate under the holes 104 that would open or close the exposed part of the hole as required.

The collar 110 would fit around the client's neck by such means as is secure and comfortable for the client like for example a spring or elastic based collar or Velcro. The collar could be made of a silicon based substance. This collar could have a hollow section with holes 112 facing the client's neck to catch and suck in any hairs that slip between the neck and the collar 110. This collar could be made wholly or partially of silicon or similar relatively soft but strong material.

The vacuum pipes in this embodiment of the invention are under the cloak 100 and the engine creating the vacuum could be also under the cloak 100 or at a distance joined to each haircutting cloak by vacuum pipes. Alternatively, there could be a central vacuum pump for example under the floor of a hairdresser's premises or in an adjacent room with a detachable vacuum pipe connection next to each hair cutting chair. The vacuum pipes from the hair cutting chair to the vacuum making compressor could be under the floor or over-head. This would have the advantage of reducing the amount of unsightly exposed piping and also reduce the noise of the vacuum motor in the vicinity of the haircutting chairs.

FIG. 2 shows a hairdressing cloak 120 with the hair catching tray 122 positioned lower on the cloak 120 than in FIG. 1. The cloak 120 has a collar closing catch 124 with hooks or Velcro to allow the closing of the collar to be adjustable to the size of the client's neck. In other respects the operational functions of this embodiment could be partially or wholly similar to those of the embodiment in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a hairdresser's cloak 130 with the cupped collar 132 to catch hair cuttings. The vacuum pipe 134 sucks the hairs that fall into the collar 132 and pulls them into a collection vessel that could be close to the cloak 130 or under the floor or in an adjacent room.

The collar 132 could be hinged and attached to a motor that would close the collar on its longitudinal circular axis. This would enable the hairs to collect during the cutting process and then be sucked away in one short action. This could be used where the constant running of the vacuum would bother the customers. The operation of the vacuum periodically could be done manually or automatically according to time or according to need with the aid of sensors detecting the presence of hair cuttings.

The control box 136 could be to operate the various settings of the vacuum motor. Alternatively or in addition the operation could be by remote control 138.

FIG. 4 shows a hair dresser's chair 150 with the motor 152 of the vacuum attached to the back of the chair 150. The vacuum pipe 154 could be connected to a hair collecting tray of a hair dresser's protective cloak.

FIG. 5 shows a hair dresser's chair 160 with the cloak 162 and vacuum pipes 164 attached permanently or temporarily to the chair 160. The customer 166 could place his or her neck into the closable opening 168 of the cloak 162. This embodiment could operate without the cloak 162. The tray 170 would collect the hair cuttings which would be sucked away by the vacuum apparatus, enabling the haircutting work to be done without using the conventional cloak. This would add to the comfort of the customer and make the hairdresser's work easier.

The present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments described above, but to encompass any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A method and device to collect hair cuttings comprising, a. a hair dresser's cloak with a collar tray circumscribing the customer's neck, said collar is in a shape of a concave tray, wherein the two edges of the tray, the one edge close to said customer's neck and the second edge is the furthest part from customer's neck, are higher then the middle area of the tray, whereby hair cut will fall on said middle part of tray; b. at least one hole in said tray collar, c. at least one pipe connected to said hole and to a source of vacuum suction, whereby hair cuttings are sucked down the said pipe and collected in a container.
 2. A method and device to collect hair cuttings as claimed in claim 1 wherein said collar tray is close to the head of the customer.
 3. A method and device to collect hair cuttings as claimed in claim 1 wherein said collar tray is positioned lower on the hairdresser's cloak.
 4. A method and device to collect hair cuttings as claimed in claim 1 wherein said collar tray has at least one hole in the part of the collar facing the customer's neck.
 5. A method and device to collect hair cuttings as claimed in claim 1 wherein said collar tray is made of a silicon based compound.
 6. A method and device to collect hair cuttings as claimed in claim 1 wherein said holes are adjustable in size.
 7. A method and device to collect hair cuttings as claimed in claim 1 wherein said collar tray is hinged and can close around its longitudinal circular axis for the purpose of more efficient sucking out the said hair cuttings.
 8. A method and device to collect hair cuttings as claimed in claim 1 wherein said vacuum pipes lead under the hairdresser's cloak.
 9. A method and device to collect hair cuttings as claimed in claim 1 wherein said vacuum pipes lead over the hairdresser's cloak.
 10. A method and device to collect hair cuttings as claimed in claim 1 wherein said vacuum pipes lead under the floor.
 11. A method and device to collect hair cuttings as claimed in claim 1 wherein said vacuum pipes lead to another room from the one where the hair cutting is taking place.
 12. A method and device to collect hair cuttings as claimed in claim 1 wherein the operation of the vacuum machinery or the said folding feature is by a control box connected with a cable to the said vacuum machinery or to the said cloak.
 13. A method and device to collect hair cuttings as claimed in claim 1 wherein the operation of the said vacuum machinery or the said folding feature is with the aid of a remote control device.
 14. A method and device to collect hair cuttings as claimed in claim 1 wherein said vacuum machinery is attached to the hairdresser's chair.
 15. A method and device to collect hair cuttings comprising a. a collar tray circumscribing the customer's neck, said collar is in a shape of a concave tray, wherein the two edges of the tray, the one edge close to said customer's neck and the second edge is the furthest part from customer's neck, are higher then the middle area of the tray, whereby hair cut will fall on said middle part of tray; b. at least one hole in said tray collar, c. at least one pipe connected to said hole and to a source of vacuum suction, whereby hair cuttings are sucked down the said pipe and collected in a container.
 16. A method and device to collect hair cuttings as claimed in claim 15 wherein said collar tray is close to the head of the customer.
 17. A method and device to collect hair cuttings as claimed in claim 15 wherein said collar tray is lower down the body of the customer.
 18. A detachable device fittable to a person having a hair cut to catch fallen hair cuttings with a vacuum attachment to suck away the said cuttings. 